What is the nature of innovation? Certainly, to a large extent, to rise above oneself. To grow beyond oneself, to develop further. To review sensitivities, the well-worn and the tried and tested. That this requires courage is a basic prerequisite. OpenTerra was founded with precisely this spirit of innovation: To make urban city development future-oriented and to explore a new dimension of planning for it.
As on a small scale, so on a large scale. Making innovation usable on a large scale and ensuring a special impact requires big decisions. The province of South Tyrol has made these decisions in order to reposition itself on the market and to establish itself as a business location not only nationally but also internationally.
The metaphorical ivory tower of South Tyrol's isolation was brought down with the idea for the NOI Techpark and another landmark now stands in its place: The listed water tower at the former Alumix site. Bolzano's former aluminum plant, which covered two thirds of Italy's needs in its heyday.
Where a factory once stood, new ideas and research are now being created to drive innovation. A new district is being created in Bolzano South. The technology park will eventually cover an area of 12 hectares, all of which has already been planned and allocated space. So they were thinking big here. To date, only a third of it has been built on. When the demand is there, a new construction lot will be put out to tender and new companies and creative minds will move into the Techpark. And it continues to grow. The 64 companies located at the NOI site have "innovation embedded in their DNA." This is how NOI AG itself proudly describes it. And research is also carried out at NOI. The 52 laboratories conduct research into healthy food and green technology, among other things. So that everyone can afford development and research, there is the so-called Lab Bonus. This is a relatively quick and uncomplicated form of funding for laboratory use. Another successful model is the Start-up Incubator, one of the most modern start-up centers in Europe. A selection process is used to filter out the start-ups with the highest potential and support them with their foundation and market entry. The charm of the NOI Techpark lies in the fruitful dialog between past and present. 30 start-ups are now based at the NOI, and soon there will be one more.
Nature Of Innovation - the model is nature
There could be no better location for us in South Tyrol than the NOI Techpark in Bolzano, which was opened in 2017 as a long-term, innovative project after a 2-year construction phase. During the opening speech, Governor Arno Kompatscher spoke of "an innovative place that will change South Tyrol. In the spirit of the name NOI, which is an acronym for "Nature of Innovation", innovation here is modeled on nature. Nature is ahead of us in many ways, including as an inventor. It is therefore a great teacher that is sustainable, flexible and innovative. The NOI Techpark will be the same."
With this huge project, South Tyrol and Bolzano have not only committed themselves to change, but also to innovation, research and development. The NOI Technology Park in Bolzano South is part of the province's long-term overall strategy to keep South Tyrol competitive as a business location. The park brings together established companies, research institutes and the university. For start-ups in particular, "the NOI", as it is almost affectionately called by the people working here - as if it had a life of its own - is a stroke of luck, as they find fertile breeding ground here. The symbiosis of the various entities harbors enormous potential. The NOI Techpark continues to grow. Further buildings and a daycare center will be added in 2019, laboratories of the University of Bolzano will be completed in 2021 and finally, in 2022, the Institute for Biomedicine of Eurac Research and SABES, the South Tyrolean health company, will move into another new building. In 2023, a completely new Techpark site is developed and the NOI is built in Bruneck in the east of South Tyrol, in the Puster Valley. Finally, in 2024, the engineering faculty of unibz moves into a completely new building and we, as OpenTerra, also move into the NOI in 2024, thus laying a physical foundation stone for our start-up, which has so far existed between the worlds.
Why OpenTerra is located in the NOI Techpark
OpenTerra deliberately chose the NOI Techpark in Bolzano, South Tyrol, because it offers an ideal environment for the development and implementation of our projects. As a vibrant innovation center that offers us numerous advantages and supports us in realizing our vision of sustainable, urban spaces. The decision-makers from business and politics asked themselves good questions and brought the Techpark to life.
And we also asked ourselves burning questions and acted on a demand that we observed on the market. On the NOI's large piazza, two innovative minds enjoy a coffee together in the Noisteria, the Techpark's café and restaurant. They are Klaus Kornprobst, founder of OpenTerra, and Dietmar Sigele, Head of Process Engineering in Construction at the Fraunhofer Institute Italia, also based at the NOI. They talk shop about the time when the basic idea for OpenTerra was born: "I was aware of the acute demand from planners and engineers from my first company, Climagrün," says Kornprobst. There he planned intelligent green roof systems and noticed that there was a need to catch up. Together with Dietmar Siegele and the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute, they looked at the possibilities of artificial intelligence in connection with urban city planning and developed ChatILP, an intelligent landscape planner. "OpenTerra was born out of this idea," says Klaus Kornprobst and Dietmar Siegele adds that "large structures are often obstacles to innovation. In our collaboration, we were lucky enough to have short decision-making paths right from the start, which enabled us to develop this ground-breaking tool."
"One of the most important reasons for our decision to move into the NOI Techpark was the comprehensive support we received from the province of South Tyrol," explains Klaus Kornprobst. This support is provided in many ways, especially financially, and enables OpenTerra to participate in various innovative funding projects. These include ERDF funding (European Regional Development Fund), state funding for research and development as well as innovation premiums and grants. These grants are invaluable to us as OpenTerra and help to drive our projects forward and give space to new ideas, such as the OpenTerra Online Academy, which is also due to be launched in 2025, alongside the launch of the AI-based software, ChatILP.
"NOI Techpark itself offers us comprehensive support in all areas, be it in innovative, organizational or operational matters. We benefit from the assistance in the search for high-quality employees and the identification and integration of external partners. Techpark also supports us in organizing events, customer meetings and workshops, which is very important for us in order to implement our projects effectively and achieve our goals," says the founder.
The environment in the NOI Techpark is ideal for our employees and customers. Here we can use all the necessary structures to support us in organizing events, customer meetings and training courses. This infrastructure promotes the creativity and efficiency of our team and enables us to turn our visions into reality.
Another major advantage is the proximity to the new Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bolzano, which is being built on site and will also open in 2024. This faculty will give us direct access to young, motivated talents who will bring fresh ideas and innovation to our projects. This is a significant advantage for OpenTerra, as we can continuously benefit from new perspectives and expertise.
Another decisive advantage is the cooperation with Fraunhofer Italia, one of our important partners, which is located in the same building. This proximity creates the perfect conditions for constructive and efficient collaboration. Thanks to the regular exchange and close cooperation, we can develop innovative solutions and successfully implement our projects.
Site inspection at the Techpark. Klaus Kornprobst stands on the large square in front of the main entrance. Green spaces between the old aluminum plant building and the Faculty of Engineering building still under construction, old trees and young trees, inviting wooden cubes to enjoy a lunch break outdoors, deckchairs on the lawn to make the upcoming summer events cozy. "Beats, performances, art and more" is how the NOI advertises warm summer evenings and is giving the established nightlife venues in the city center serious competition. This is not just a place to work, but increasingly a new living space for Bolzano, for South Tyrol. There are restaurants, a palm garden, a trust bar-style community bar, tea kitchens to heat up food you have brought with you, a daycare center, fitness and yoga classes, industry meetings and, in summer, clubbing under the stars with international DJs in the large square. Coworking spaces offer room for creative exchange and potential collaborations between start-ups and established companies are in the air at all times, like Plato's cloud of ideas, always within reach and ready to download. Around 1,200 people work here and spend a large part of their lives in this vibrant place: Companies, start-ups, researchers, students, teachers. Together they are innovators. The NOI Techpark is a success story and offers space for development.
"OpenTerra would like to thank the NOI Techpark and the province of South Tyrol for all these opportunities," says Klaus Kornprobst, his eyes sparkling as his gaze wanders over the Techpark site, as if he can sense the potential that the new location holds for OpenTerra. "It is only thanks to their support that we are able to manage this intensive and exciting project at all. We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration and to shaping the future of sustainable urban development together," he continues. His gaze wanders upwards, along the water tower, which stands symbolically in front of the old building as Bolzano's secret innovation landmark. In 2007, the Polish artist Mariusz Waras, who was still only considered a promising artist at the time, painted graffiti on the old water tower. This took place as part of the "Manifest 7" Biennial of Contemporary Art in Bolzano. Waras is now internationally renowned and the NOI is also attracting more and more attention.
Innovation shifts horizons. And boundaries. Or dissolves them.
In May 2025, the NOI Techpark will become an international stage as the venue for the European summit of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP). Representatives from all over Europe have voted and the choice has fallen on Bolzano, more precisely "on the NOI".
Where knowledge transfer takes place is the perfect place for the most important event of the international association. Networked in 80 countries worldwide, the IASP has united a total of 330 science and technology parks and over 100,000 companies since 1984. This summit, which will take place from May 7 to 9, 2025, will bring together several hundred delegates from European technology and science parks at the NOI Techpark. This should prove that the vision for the Techpark has been fulfilled, as bringing together so many innovative companies and decision-makers at this location shows the perfect development of the idea of creating a technology park for South Tyrol and, with this event at the latest, has placed itself among the established locations worldwide.
"We are delighted to be based at the Noi Techpark in Bolzano, a border region in the heart of Europe that is ideal for initiating new collaborations between science and technology parks, innovation and research centers," said Ebba Lund, CEO of IASP, in the press release for the 2025 Summit in Bolzano.
A significant 13.3 million euros were made available for the Techpark by the province of South Tyrol at the beginning of June 2024. So the NOI success story continues.
NOI AG currently employs 89 people. They network the companies, work in marketing to become even more visible and relevant to the outside world and work in a total of 20 areas to ensure smooth operations and the creation of new things. Together for NOI, as "We-Noi", as "We" means in Italian.
The strategy of supporting innovation and research in South Tyrol is working and is attracting more and more people. For South Tyroleans and for more and more people from further afield. They all enliven the NOI and make it what it is: the home in South Tyrol for the nature of innovation. OpenTerra is soaking up this potential and has a lot of motivation, desire and dedication to explore the nature of innovation and work towards a green urban future at this inspiring location, which at times seems like a campus full of possibilities.
Europe's Innovation Summit 2025
The IASP (International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation) European Division Event 2025 will take place in Bolzano, Italy, from May 7 to 9, 2025. The event will be hosted by the NOI Techpark in Bolzano.
Details of the event:
- Date: May 7 to 9, 2025
- Organizer: NOI Techpark
- Venue: NOI Techpark
- City: Bolzano
- Country: Italy
Further information can be found on the IASP website.
